This invention relates generally to mirrors for vehicles designed to aid a driver in identifying objects and, more specifically, to a trunk-mounted lateral-view mirror assembly for a vehicle dimensioned to allow a driver to view objects positioned lateral to a rear portion of the vehicle.
Driving a car or other vehicle safely requires the driver to constantly be able to see other vehicles, objects and pedestrians. This is often difficult since a car has many blind-spots, and the driver generally is facing forward with limited ability to turn around and view surrounding areas. One situation where a driver""s limited field of vision presents an especially acute problem is when pulling out of a parking spot. When a driver needs to back out of a parking space in which he or she is parked face-forward between two other vehicles, especially when those vehicles are large in size, the driver has no ability to see laterally to either side of the rear portion of his or her vehicle to determine if there are pedestrians or other vehicles about to cross into his or her path. Often, most drivers in this situation simply back out slowly in an attempt to alert pedestrians and other cars of the vehicle""s presence. This method is fraught with danger. It is often the case that pedestrians walking through a parking lot simply do not see a car as it backs out. The same is the case for another vehicle or a bike which might be passing quickly behind the driver""s vehicle as he or she backs out. In all of these cases, it is the parked vehicle""s driver who is responsible for insuring that his or her car does not strike a pedestrian or vehicle. In order to be sure that a pedestrian or vehicle is not approaching, the driver must be able to see laterally from a rear portion of the driver""s vehicle in order to see if a pedestrian or vehicle is approaching.
Various attempts have been made to use mirrors to allow a driver to view objects lateral to a rear end of a vehicle. For example, Netherlands patent 6,407,141 issued to Lorenzo shows one embodiment with mirrors placed at opposite corners of a rear end of a vehicle. This design prevents the use of the relatively large rear-view mirror in order to view the lateral-view mirrors, instead relying on the relatively small side-view mirrors to relay images from the relatively small lateral-view mirrors. This set-up is also counter-intuitive to most drivers. When backing up in a vehicle, a driver is often already conditioned to look through the rear-view mirror to see if there are any obstructions directly behind the vehicle.
Another embodiment of the Lorenzo patent discloses a substantially Y-shaped mirror assembly placed at the center of a top surface of a rear end of a vehicle. Although this mirror assembly does utilize the rear-view mirror, there are several problems with the design. Most automobiles today are required to have a rear brake light mounted proximate a bottom center portion of the rear windshield. A Y-shaped mirror assembly can only be placed at a center portion of the trunk of a vehicle, thus obstructing other drivers"" ability to view the rear windshield mounted brake light. Additionally, it would be difficult for a driver to see over his or her rear windshield mounted brake light to see the trunk-mounted mirrors placed directly behind the brake light.
German patent DE 3023-208 issued to Scheffler also shows several embodiments of mirror assemblies for lateral-view. In one embodiment, a triangular-shaped mirror assembly is placed at the center portion of the trunk of a vehicle, which, as discussed above, both obstructs the view of the rear windshield mounted brake light and obstructs the driver""s ability to see the mirror assembly through the rear-view mirror. In another embodiment of the Scheffler patent, separate mirrors are placed at the rear corners of the vehicle. As mentioned above, this design does not utilize the relatively large rear-view mirror, and is counter-intuitive to most drivers.
A need therefore existed for a lateral-view mirror assembly having two lateral-view mirrors placed apart on a rear portion of a vehicle, with a first lateral-view mirror placed between a center portion and a driver""s side of a top surface of a rear portion of a vehicle and a second lateral-view mirror placed between a center portion and a passenger""s side of a top surface of a rear portion of a vehicle.
An object of the present invention is to provide a lateral-view mirror assembly for a vehicle capable of providing two lateral-view mirrors coupled to a top surface of a rear portion of a vehicle and dimensioned to allow a driver to view objects positioned lateral to a rear portion of the vehicle by looking at a reflection of objects through the lateral-view mirror to a rear-view mirror to the driver.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for viewing objects lateral to a rear portion of a vehicle capable of allowing a driver to view objects positioned lateral to a rear portion of a vehicle by looking at a reflection of objects through two lateral-view mirrors placed on a top surface of a rear portion of a vehicle to a rear-view mirror to the driver.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a lateral-view mirror assembly for a vehicle is disclosed, comprising, in combination, a first lateral-view mirror coupled to a base portion, the base portion being coupled to a gripping portion, wherein the gripping portion of the first lateral-view convex mirror being adapted to be coupled to a top surface of a rear portion of a vehicle between a center portion of the top surface and a driver""s side of the top surface, wherein the first lateral-view mirror being dimensioned to be positioned in a line of sight with a rear-view mirror, the first lateral-view mirror being dimensioned to allow a driver to view objects positioned lateral to the driver""s side of a rear portion of the vehicle by looking at a reflection of the objects reflected from the first lateral-view mirror to the rear-view mirror to the driver, and a second lateral-view mirror coupled to a base portion, the base portion being coupled to a gripping portion, wherein the gripping portion of the second lateral-view convex mirror being adapted to be coupled to a top surface of a rear portion of the vehicle between a center portion of the top surface and a passenger""s side of the top surface, wherein the second lateral-view mirror being positioned in a line of sight with the rear-view mirror, the second lateral-view mirror being dimensioned to allow a driver to view objects positioned lateral to a passenger""s side of a rear portion of the vehicle by looking at a reflection of the objects reflected from the second lateral-view mirror to the rear-view mirror to the driver.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a method for viewing objects lateral to a rear portion of a vehicle is disclosed comprising, in combination, the steps of providing a first lateral-view mirror coupled to a base portion, the base portion being coupled to a gripping portion, coupling the gripping portion of the first lateral-view mirror to a top surface of a rear portion of a vehicle between a center portion of the top surface and a driver""s side of the top surface, wherein the first lateral-view mirror being dimensioned to be positioned in a line of sight with a rear-view mirror, the first lateral-view mirror being dimensioned to allow a driver to view objects positioned lateral to the driver""s side of a rear portion of the vehicle by looking at a reflection of the objects reflected from the first lateral-view mirror to the rear-view mirror to the driver, providing a second lateral-view mirror coupled to a base portion, the base portion being coupled to a gripping portion, and coupling the gripping portion of the second lateral-view mirror to a top surface of a rear portion of the vehicle between a center portion of the top surface and a passenger""s side of the top surface, wherein the second lateral-view mirror being positioned in a line of sight with the rear-view mirror, the second lateral-view mirror being dimensioned to allow a driver to view objects positioned lateral to a passenger""s side of a rear portion of the vehicle by looking at a reflection of the objects reflected from the second lateral-view mirror to the rear-view mirror to the driver.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.